- LIVE ONLINE PROGRAM
February 14, – May 1, 2024
Self-Surrender and Self-Knowledge Cultivating Equanimity and Non-Attachment
Swami Brahmananda
12 WEEKLY SESSIONS, Wednesdays, 6:00-7:45pm ET
Course Description:
Join this 12-week course with Swami Brahmananda to learn what makes our spiritual life fulfilling and fully integrated with our everyday activities. Throughout this course you will learn how to overcome emotional disturbances and attachments and gain tools to cultivate mental equanimity and inner strength based on the teachings of Yoga and Vedanta as taught in the Bhagavad Gita. The teachings and practices are meant for new and experienced students alike.
The Bhagavad Gita is acclaimed as the teaching that guides us how to put in practice and apply directly in our life the sublime teachings of Yoga and Vedanta. Throughout the Bhagavad Gita the attitude of surrendering oneself to the Divine and accepting life’s dualities and challenges as God’s grace is given as a means for attaining peace and equanimity. When the mind is thus purified from binding attachments and emotions one can attain Self-knowledge and abide in one’s true nature as the all-pervading, limitless Self.
What You'll Learn:
The course is an in-depth study of the eighteenth chapter and verses 18 – 49, containing some of the most important, most illuminating, and inspiring portions of the teachings.
Some of the topics included are:
- What makes our spiritual life fulfilling and fully integrated with our everyday activities.
- How to cultivate mental equanimity.
- How to overcome emotional disturbances and attachments.
- How to attain Self-knowledge and inner freedom while engaging with the world.
- The knowledge of the mind according to the predominant quality, the Sattvic or pure mind sees the one indestructible Reality in all beings, not separate in all the separate beings, the knowledge which sees in all beings various entities of distinct kinds as different from one another is Rajasic (passionate) and the vision which clings to one single effect as if it were the whole, without reason, without foundation in Truth is Tamasic (dark).
- The three fold division of action, Sattvic the action which is ordained, which is free from attachment, which is done without love or hatred by one who is not desirous of any reward, Rajasic action is that action which is done by one longing for the fulfillment of desires or gain, with egoism or with much effort and Tamasic action is that action which is undertaken from delusion, without regard to the consequences of loss, injury and (one’s own) ability.
- The three fold division of intellect, the Sattvic is that which knows the path of work and renunciation, what ought to be done and what ought not to be done, fear and fearlessness, bondage and liberation, the Rajasic intellect is that by which one incorrectly understands Dharma and Adharma, and also what ought to be done and what ought not to be done, and the Tamasic intellect is enveloped in darkness, views Adharma as Dharma and all things perverted.
- The Sattvic or pure happiness is like poison at first but in the end like nectar, born of the purity of one’s own mind, the Rajasic pleasure arises from the contact of the sense-organs with the objects, which is at first like nectar and in the end like poison and the Tamasic pleasure is delusive of the self, arising from sleep, indolence and heedlessness.
- The Varna Dharma, or social order, of the Brahmanas, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras.
Additional Information:
Offered as 12 weekly sessions on Wednesdays, February 14, 21, 28, March 6, 13, 20, 27, April 3, 10, 17, 24, & May 1, 2024 from 6:00-7:45pm ET
This program is offered live through Zoom webinar with the availability for students to interact through Q&A with the presenter.
For enrolled students, a video recording will be available after each class in the event you miss a class or would like to review the content.
It is possible to register and take the course at any time. You can catch up on any classes you miss with the recordings.
Requirements and Recommendations:
- No experience necessary. This program is open to beginners as well as advanced practitioners.
- Viewing Device: Desktop or laptop computer will provide the best experience, although you can also connect via a tablet or smartphone.
- Internet connection: High-speed broadband wired or wireless is best.
- Video: Download Zoom to your computer, or install the Zoom app to your device. For interactive group sessions, a webcam or integrated camera will allow others to feel more connected with you.
- Audio: Headphone speakers are recommended. If you wish to participate vocally, a headset with a microphone will be ideal.
Course Includes:
- 24 hours of on-demand video
- 12 live sessions of 2 hours of study from the Patanjali Yoga sutras and guided practices. Each class includes teachings, practice time and dedicated time for questions and answers
- Home guided practices – including recorded guided meditations
- Feedback and personal guidance on student’s home practices
- Availability to ask questions about the studies and practices between classes
- Course Manual
Swami Brahmananda is a monk and senior teacher of the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centers and is the current Manager of the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat in the Bahamas. Swami Brahmananda joined the Sivananda organization in 1999 and was initiated into Sannyasa (monasticism) in 2006.
A long-time practitioner of yoga, meditation and philosophical studies, he regularly teaches meditation and yoga philosophy for the Sivananda Yoga Teachers’ Training Courses as well as the Advanced Yoga Teachers’ Training Courses. He also teaches online courses on the Patanjali Yoga Sutras and Vedanta. Swami Brahmananda is a much-loved, inspiring, and knowledgeable teacher.